The resetting of relations between Israel and key Arab states is a reflection of the changing geostrategic tectonic plates in West Asia, with Iran taking center stage, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton said at the WION Global Summit in Dubai on Wednesday.
The resetting of relations between Israel and key Arab states is a reflection of the changing geostrategic tectonic plates in West Asia, with Iran taking center stage, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton said at the WION Global Summit in Dubai on Wednesday.
Recognition of Israel, the exchange of full diplomatic ties between the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and the expectation that Sudan and Morocco will do the same suggest that other Gulf Arab countries are expanding full diplomatic relations with Israel, he said in the Keynote address at the opening session of the summit.
The reason for this change is the clarification between the Arab Gulf States and Israel that “the main threat to regional peace and security is not Israel, but Iran,” he said.
“Your perception of this threat not only triggered formal diplomatic exchanges, but also intensified political, military and intelligence cooperation in order not only to face the nuclear threat from Iran, but also the ballistic missile program and support for terrorism in the region and beyond to protect and deploy conventional forces through Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. “
This is a growing, ongoing and expanding collaboration, he told the session, titled “Peace Accords and the Changing Sands of Western Asia”..
“It also offers tremendous opportunities, not just militarily and politically, but also economically, with the connection of the Gulf’s oil revenues and Israeli technology potentially being of great importance.”
He pointed out that the potential for stability will also bring foreign investment to the region, making it not only a place where government investment funds invest globally, but where more resources are made available for the Gulf states themselves.
The unspoken question is whether oil resources and natural gas in the region can be used for other purposes, such as chemicals and plastics, to provide a continued source of income for the states that have those resources, Bolton said.
He also stressed the importance of protecting yourself from the possibility that oil revenues will decline and not be replaced and generate other economic activity.
Power play in the region
In his address, Bolton briefly examined the ongoing power games in the region.
“Other external powers will play a major role in the region, or will certainly strive to do so. The US must play as a power despite the ongoing discussion about the pivotal point to Asia. We are interested everywhere. We’re interested in East Asia, South Asia, West Asia, that won’t go away, ”he said.
But other countries have begun to play an important role and they could “mess up” the water in the Middle East significantly, he warned.
“Russia is already doing it. In recent years it has expanded its position in Syria and is a substitute in the Libyan substitute civil war. “
Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to strive to “restore Russian influence in western Asia that corresponds to that of the former Soviet Union”.
As an energy consumer, China sees the Middle East as a source of oil that it needs. “It is a worrying aspect for countries in Southeast Asia and India when China tries to establish hegemony.”
And Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which may be a regional country, is pursuing “neo-Ottoman impulses” in Syria and the region, Bolton said.
“It has acted contrary to its NATO commitments,” he said, adding that Turkey’s role in the replacement war in Libya is much bigger than it has been in the past.
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